Sewist, Fashion Designer, Professional Seamstress, Cook

Month: January 2018

In four months, a mere 117 days, 23 hours, and 28 minutes, I’ll be married. But who’s counting. YIKES!! So much to do. Why is it when we got engaged last February it felt so far away. Now that the new year is upon us, it’s first and foremost in my mind.

Luckily our church and reception venue has been reserved since last spring and I finally got the save the date cards in the mail the first week of December. Man did that make things real! This first week of 2018 we’ve been busy making phone calls and sending emails working on securing a caterer, florist, cake maker, photographer, musicians and probably others that aren’t coming to mind at the moment. Luckily, everyone, thus far, has been available for our date. Now we just need to start making decisions and doling out those deposits. And every time I think I have thought of everything one more item pops into my head. I know it will all come together we’ll have a beautiful and special day!

The most important thing, my dress . . . YES, of course I’ll be making it! I’d been looking at silhouettes online and even dabbling with sketches and a few months ago came up with a vision in my head. Although I will soon be 60, I wanted a traditional wedding dress. I was thinking a full, gored,a-line ivory gown would be flattering for my body type. What princess doesn’t want layers and layers of crinolines under her skirt! I also wanted it to have a train and some type of sleeve. It had to be me, but as a designer, I also wanted a statement piece.

I had made some client gowns this past year and loved the drape and feel of silk dupioni. I also loved how it photographed. I ordered a few swatches from my various resources and on a whim ordered a very soft lavender from Mood. Those who know me, know my favorite color is purple and I already knew my wedding colors were going to be hues of purple. Did Pantone pick Ultra Violet just for me? It sure seems like it!! The minute I opened the envelope and saw this 5″ x 5″ piece of fabric, I knew it was my gown.

I had also decided that I wanted a lace bodice and elbow length lace sleeves. I’d been looking in my local Jo Ann’s, again doing more searching online, but nothing was doing it for me. I was about to place my Mood order for the dupioni and did one last search so I could order any swatches I wanted at the same time. I kept gravitating to a pearled and sequined three dimensional lavender and beige floral embroidered lace. The picture wasn’t great and it was $99/yard, but I figured what the heck, for $5 for a sample I’d go for it.

Again, my package arrived and I was excited for the silk, but I couldn’t wait to see the lace . . . O M G, it was exquisite! And it was a perfect match. They only had 14 yards and then the next day it was down to 12, so I knew I had to make a decision fast. Was I worth it, we all know the answer to that question, yes I am!! I have the talents and confidence to work with couture fabrics . . . for my clients. So, I’m looking at myself as a client. I can do this . . . The package arrived mid-week and I finally opened it yesterday. WOW is all I can say.

Sew . . . it’s time for me to get busy. I want to get a muslin mock done by the end of January to start working on fit with the gown completed by the end of March. I still have to find lining fabric and since I’ll be underlining the entire gown with cotton broadcloth that will have to be ordered as well. I perspire a lot, so I want to keep the gown all natural fibers (no, that lace doesn’t fall into this category – oh well) and it’s an early May wedding in North Carolina, so it could be warm. I also have to find the fabrics for the train . . . I did say statement piece, didn’t I?? Stay tuned while I chronicle this next venture in our lives.